13 April

When Kids Can Be Kids. And Hearts Can Turn To Stone.

by Jon Katz
Kids Become Kids

Our world is in turmoil, facing one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history, more than 70 million people, says the U.N., are now refugees, fleeing their homelands or facing war or great danger. Many millions are children, they face starvation and violence.

It is clearly not possible to take in them all, the world is struggling to decide what will become of them and how we will respond as human beings.

I wonder if we can once again take in some, at RISSE, I see their promise and value, we are taking about their lives and our souls, our capacity for empathy, the hallmark of the noble spirit, the path to reaching our highest human potential. Every child is precious and deserving.

At RISSE, the idea is to keep the refugee children together, until they are strong enough to join the wider world. Their life and sense of community is palpable.

In America, kids are free to live and become kids, something new to many of them. They love to be photograph and vamp for me.

They are no danger to us, to me, the great danger for us is that our hearts turn to stone, and we turn our backs to them.

I don’t wish my heart to ever turn to stone.

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